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{{Short description|Ability of a person to regulate themselves with the use of reason}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Redirect|Imprudence|the French short story|Imprudence (Maupassant short story)|the racehorse|Imprudence (horse)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
[[File:The crowned Prudencia, riding a wagon and speaking to women Wellcome L0029370.jpg|thumb|The crowned Prudencia, carrying scales, allegorically rides a wagon to [[Heaven]]. Concordia puts the finishing touches on the wagon. Upon entry Prudencia rides alone, on one horse, towards the [[Empyrean]] of the [[God in Christianity|Christian God]]. On the lower left corner, Prudencia, with a book, addresses eight young women seated upon the ground. On the lower right corner, Prudencia enthroned speaks to eleven young seated women.]]
[[File:Saint-Denis (93), basilique, monument funéraire de Louis XII et Anne de Bretagne, 1515, la Prudence.JPG|thumb|200px|Prudentia
[[File:Papstgrab, Prudentia.jpg|thumb|Prudentia on the tomb of [[Pope Clement II]] in the [[Bamberg Cathedral]]]]
'''Prudence''' ({{lang-la|prudentia}}, [[Contraction (grammar)|contracted]] from {{lang|la|providentia}} meaning "seeing ahead, sagacity") is the ability to govern and discipline oneself by the use of [[reason]].<ref>
The word derives from the 14th-century [[Old French]] word
In modern
In the ''[[Nicomachean Ethics]]'', [[Aristotle]] gives a lengthy account of the virtue {{transliteration|grc|[[phronesis]]}} ({{lang-grc|ϕρόνησις}})
== As the "mother" of all virtues ==
[[File:DSCN2047.JPG|thumb|Allegory of Prudence on the [[tomb of Francis II, Duke of Brittany]] The female face depicts Francis' daughter [[Anne of Brittany]].]]
Prudence was considered by the [[Ancient Greece|ancient Greeks]] and later
Prudence
== Versus imprudence, cunning and false prudence ==
In [[Christianity|Christian]] understanding, the difference between prudence and cunning lies in the intent with which
According to [[Thomas Aquinas]], judgments
The Ancient Greek term for prudence is synonymous with "forethought". People, the Ancient Greeks believed, must have enough prudence to prepare for worshiping the Olympian gods.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Homer |title=The Iliad of Homer |date=2011-01-01 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-47049-8 |location=Chicago London |language=English |translator-last=Lattimore |translator-first=Richmond}}</ref>
== Integral parts ==
[[File:Justice and Prudence window, Lindfield.jpg|thumb|[[Justice]] and Prudence window, Lindfield. Third window, south chapel, All Saints Church, Lindfield, West Sussex. Made in or after 1906 by Christopher Whall.]]
Prudence is the application of universal principles to particular situations.<ref name="mcmanaman">
== Prudential judgment ==
{{more citations needed section|small=y|date=March 2016}}
[[File:Titian - Allegorie der Zeit.jpg|thumb|''[[Allegory of Prudence]]'' by [[Titian]]. To Titian, prudence was preparation, foresight and judgement from experience and human history. The three faces in the painting represent the passing of human generations, with the young facing the light while the oldest fade into shadow; the faint inscription above their heads may be translated as "From the past, the present acts prudently, lest it spoils future action".<ref name=":0">
In ethics, a "prudential judgment" is one where the circumstances must be weighed to determine the correct action.<ref>{{Cite web
For instance, in the theory of [[just war]], the government of a nation must weigh whether the harms they suffer are more than the harms that would be produced by their going to war against another nation that is harming them; the decision whether to go to war is therefore a prudential judgment.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Just and Unjust Wars Summary {{!}} PDF {{!}} Just War Theory {{!}} Preemptive War |url=https://www.scribd.com/document/295701096/Just-and-Unjust-wars-summary |access-date=2023-10-19 |website=Scribd |language=en}}</ref>
== In rhetoric ==
[[File:Main_ornate_of_the_facade,_Castellania_Malta.jpeg|thumb|left|Main gate of 18th-century [[Castellania (Valletta)|Castellania]] portraying [[Lady Justice]] and [[Prudentia|Lady Prudentia]] above]]
{{transliteration|grc|[[Phronesis]]}}, or practical wisdom, holds an important place in [[Rhetoric|rhetorical theory]] as a central aspect of judgment and practice. [[Nicomachean Ethics#Practical judgement (phronesis)|Aristotle
[[Cicero]] defined
In the
In his study of [[Machiavelli]], examining the relationship between prudence and moderation, rhetorician Eugene Garver holds that there is a middle ground between "an ethics of principles, in which those principles univocally dictate action" and "an ethics of consequences, in which the successful result is all".<ref name="Garver">{{cite book |last=Garver |first=Eugene |title=Machiavelli and the History of Prudence |publisher=University of Wisconsin Press |year=1987 |isbn=0-299-11080-X}}</ref> His premise stems from Aristotle's theory of virtue as [[golden mean (philosophy)|an "intermediate"]], in which moderation and compromise embody prudence. Yet, because
== In economics ==
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Economists describe a [[consumer]] as "prudent" if he or she [[Saving|saves]] more when faced with [[risk]]ier future income. This additional saving is called [[precautionary saving]].
If a risk-averse consumer has a [[utility function]] <math>u(x)</math> over consumption
u
</math>.<ref>{{cite journal |first=A. |last=Sandmo |year=1970 |title=The Effect of Uncertainty on Saving Decisions |journal=[[Review of Economic Studies]] |volume=37 |issue=3 |pages=353–360 |doi=10.2307/2296725 |jstor=2296725 }}</ref>
The strength of the precautionary saving motive can be measured by '''absolute prudence''', which is defined as
<math>
-\frac{u
</math>. Similarly, '''relative prudence''' is defined as absolute prudence, multiplied by the level of consumption. These measures are closely related to the concepts of absolute and relative [[risk aversion]] developed by [[Kenneth Arrow]] and [[John W. Pratt]].<ref>{{cite journal |first=
== In accounting ==
In
In a 2011 report on the [[financial crisis of 2007–08]], the British [[House of Lords]] bemoaned the demotion of prudence as a governing principle of accounting and [[Financial audit|audit]].
== See also ==
* {{annotated link|[[Phronesis]]}}
* {{annotated link|[[Prudence (given name)]]}}
== References ==
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{{Christian virtue ethics}}
{{Philosophical logic}}
{{Virtues}}
{{Authority control}}
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